The Darkest Times in Lima
by i-am-a-nerdfighter
Summary: Rachel is the Chosen One, the Slayer, and she can't escape her destiny. Hardened by her past struggles, she might just find love at the worst possible time.
1. Chapter 1

"This new school will be great for you, honey. I heard it has a very low student crime rate," Hiram said.

"Yes, daddy." Rachel managed a weak smile. She wasn't particularly excited to go to a new school, to start a new life, to face new horrors, but she really had no choice. Life goes on, even when _he_ twisted her heart in his hands and shoved it back in her chest.

"You sure you still want to wear this old jacket?" he asked, pulling at the collar of her leather jacket.

Her eyes went wide. She couldn't tell him… he wouldn't understand. "Dad gave it to me. I need something from our old life to make the new start easier." Her smile came out less forced—her fresh start would be _epic_, because she would make it so. She wouldn't doubt herself this time. New life. New friends. No new love, though. She couldn't handle that.

"Dad would be so proud of you. So would Shelby," said Hiram, drawing her into a hug. Rachel stayed in his embrace for longer than necessary; she was scared to let him go. She was paranoid, but she knew the fear wouldn't go away.

. : .

"Ah, Rachel Berry! It's a pleasure to meet you," said Principal Figgins.

Rachel was a little unimpressed by the little Indian man. Her last principal had been a _mammoth_ of a woman who inspired the shakes from 30 feet away. "Lovely to be here, Mr. Figgins."

"Now, I know some of your past indiscretions and punishments have probably made you unnecessarily angry—"

"No, not at—" Rachel tried to interrupt.

"—but this is a safe environment. We do not want our gymnasium to be set on fire!" Rachel sighed; the speech was beginning. "The crime rate in this school is the lowest in the county because our students are encouraged to follow their dreams within reason! Our teachers watch them to dispel any inappropriate behavior; no cases of juvenile delinquency, knife fights, or Twilight fever have arisen at this public school under _my_ leadership."

Rachel nodded, pretending she was interested. "That's all very impressive."

"So I expect you to keep your attitude in check and attend your sessions with Ms. Pillsbury regularly. Clear?" He ended his harangue with a stern look.

"Crystal, sir." She picked up her bag and walked dejectedly out of the office. She was in for a long day.

. : .

Rachel dragged herself to her faculty advisor's office. Hopefully it would be quick so she could eat something. She'd been getting stern speeches all day long and had forgotten about breakfast in the first day rush. Her teachers were so annoyingly rude to her; _of course_ she didn't have her textbooks yet—she was a mid-semester transfer student. She knocked on Mr. Schuester's door, hoping to finally get a little sympathy.

"Rachel Berry, I presume?" Mr. Schuester asked, when she knocked and entered his office. He had curly hair and a kind face.

"Yes, sir."

"Call me Mr. Schue. Everyone does." He smiled, and she saw dimples. She was relieved to have a faculty advisor who didn't seem to hate her by her previous reputation.

"Okay, so, it's been a _long_ day, and I was wondering if I could have my books? Teachers have been berating me all day, but _clearly_ none of them was willing to respect me as an educated young woman and hand me a book."

He grinned. "I think I know exactly what you need." He raised his finger to indicate 'just a second' and ducked under his desk.

Rachel visibly relaxed. This was the best part of her day, by _far_. He wasn't yelling at her, like her teachers, or giving her disdainful looks, like some of her fellow students. Maybe this school would be okay. She almost felt like she could slip the leather jacket off; she knew it was _sick_ that it still comforted her…

Mr. Schue plunked a heavy, old book on his desk. She squinted at it; the writing was in some old script… _no_… she knew that book. _No_. How could he know? She had to ignore it. She couldn't fall back into the same patterns again. She looked at him incredulously. "You've got the wrong girl."

He cocked his head and scrunched his eyebrows. "Do I?"

She stood her ground. "Yes."

He put the book away. "Sorry. I could have sworn…" He fell silent, still looking at her hard.

"So… textbooks?" she asked brightly, trying to break the awkward tension. Mr. Schue smiled again and started pulling out books.

. : .

Rachel let her head fall on the table in front of her. After the one bright spot, her day had somehow managed to get worse. She met with Ms. Pillsbury after Mr. Schuester, and was given a pamphlet on anger management before she was hurried out so Ms. Pillsbury could disinfect for lunch. She had nowhere to sit for lunch, obviously, and ate in a large room with a piano by herself. The day was _finally_ over, but she promised her AP US History teacher (torturer) that she would be ready for the multiple-choice test tomorrow. Suffice it to say, the studying wasn't going too well. She'd missed a few classes at her old school on the subject of the New Deal for, well, the horrible things that were happening in her life at the time.

She breathed out heavily and wished the textbook would just transfer to her brain. She did not have the patience to learn this right now.

"Whoa. Loud thunk," said someone behind her.

She sat up, embarrassed. "Oh, um. It didn't hurt." She turned around and was greeted with the sight of a very tall, very handsome teenage boy. _No_, she told herself, _no boys_. She wasn't ready yet.

"You're new. Big news," he said, sitting across the table from her. "I'm Finn Hudson, by the way. My mom used to know your dads."

"I'm Rachel Berry. I _am_ big news," she beamed.

"Cool. Why did you come in March?" he asked.

She let out a breathy little laugh. "Oh, you know, there was a big… thing back in Portland."

"Oh?" he asked, expecting and explanation.

"Yeah."

He smiled at her again. She became uncomfortable immediately; she didn't like to talk about her past. "Are you all right?"

"I should get home to daddy. I'll see you tomorrow?" She zipped her jacket up and gathered her books.

"Sure. I think my mom said she'd be calling your parents about dinner."

"Yeah. Parents," she said despondently, before running out.

Finn was just confused, but that wasn't new for him around girls.

. : .

Rachel ran along the dark streets, firmly asserting to herself that this was just a check-out patrol. There was nothing to be scared of in Lima, Ohio. As a big wind came, she gripped the sides of her skirt closer to her; she didn't want to give a show to the less-than-lustrous characters of the night.

She felt bad about sneaking out; she really did. Her daddy would never know, though. He slept like a rock, and this was important. She needed to know they were safe.

How she'd managed to even survive the last month in Portland, she'd never know. She'd fought so hard against everything, only to lose her dad and just-found mother. Daddy was still blissfully ignorant, thank God; he believed the police report about the car crash. It was easier that way. If Daddy knew what his little princess had to face… he would probably end up the same place as Dad.

She turned down an alley behind an Irish pub; she hadn't run into anything unsavory yet, so if this was all there was to this hum-drum town, she guessed she could go home now.

It seemed, though, that the universe was completely against her.

"How very interesting," said a slimy voice behind her. "All alone at night, are we?"

She turned to face a man with oily hair and a ridiculous polyester shirt. "I guess not so much anymore. It's really quite rude to intrude on a young girl's private time."

He practically slithered toward her. "You don't want to be alone here at night. Creepy town full of creepy characters." He waved his fingers in the air to indicate the general creepiness. "And such a pretty face doesn't need to be disfigured." He laid his hand on her cheek. She stayed completely still, to let him think she was frozen with fear.

"It is totally weird out her at night," she said in an almost-baby voice.

"Don't worry. This won't hurt a bit; it'll make you stronger." His face changed as he leaned into her throat. She knew that change.

Before he could sink his fangs into her, she kicked him in the stomach so hard he hit the bar wall opposite her. A growl ripped out of his mouth and he came at her again, clearly not used to being beaten in any way. She was more than ready for a fight; she'd been on edge since she'd left Portland, expecting _him_ to find her. Before Polyester Idiot could bat an eye, she had him pinned to the ground, her hand at his throat. "Why are you here?" she demanded. When he didn't answer, she slammed his head against the ground. "WHY?"

"Not telling you, bitch," he snarled.

She pressed her hand harder to his throat and kneed him in the crotch. "Tell. Me. Or I will make this even more painful than it needs to be."

He looked terrified, now not underestimating his small attacker. "Look, I'll tell you what's up. Just don't stake me."

"Depends if I like what I hear."

"Someone, or something is _calling_."

She raised an eyebrow. "Calling?"

"Calling." He squirmed under her. "You'll let me go?"

"That was useless information!" She pulled a stake out of her sleeve and pushed it to his heart.

To top the horrible day off, she got vampire dust in her mouth. _Fantastic_.

. : .

With eyes a-blazing and her bouncy-angry step, Rachel stormed into Mr. Schue's office the next morning before first period. "How the _hell_ do you know who I am?"

He looked shocked. "Rachel Berry. Your name was on your transcript and I help out in admissions."

"No, Mr. Schue. You know _who I am_. But that's totally impossible because my last Watcher _died_ and the Council did fuck-all to help us." She didn't normally curse, but she was severely riled up.

His face turned solemn. "I wish you hadn't had to come here."

"I wish I hadn't either! I staked a vampire last night who didn't give me any insight to the dark stuff that's going on here. He said that someone or something is calling. What is that?"

"Hm… Was he speaking under duress?"

"Yes; I had him pinned to the ground. At least the vamps in Portland were scared enough of me to give me credible information. The monsters in Lima had better find out about me soon, because I am the best fucking Slayer there is and I deserve some respect."

"You're the Chosen One. Emphasis on the One," Mr. Schue informed her politely.

"I'm still the best."

"And so modest."

She narrowed her eyes. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Oh, yeah!" He smiled. "I'm a Watcher, too. I'm really sorry about what happened to Holly. She contacted me right before… you know. She knew that destiny would lead you here, or something, so she told me to get prepared. I have all the first editions, but she told me you were very thorough, so you've probably already read them. Right now I'm not sure about the 'calling' thing, but as of late there has been a strange amount of mystical activity here. I think some sorcerer is pulling together forces he can't deal with. Maybe it's intentional chaos? But you're finally here, so we can fight it. The vampires won't know what hit 'em."

Rachel locked her fingers together and stared at them. "Mr. Schue?"

He paused in his excited book-stacking. "Something wrong, Rachel?"

"The last time a big force was getting all, um, oogy where I lived, it kind of turned out… badly, and a lot of people died, and the guy who was behind it was—"

Immediately, Mr. Schue got up and put his hand on her shoulder. "Rachel, don't worry about that. Holly told me everything, and I know he won't find you, if he even survived that fire. You're going to be fine. You just killed a vampire last night! Clearly, your skills haven't faded at all."

She set her jaw. "I am Rachel Berry and I am amazing at killing vampires."

Mr. Schue beamed; he knew the demon presence in Lima would be under control in no time. "Great! Let's talk about your training schedule. You need to stay in top form while you're finding the dark sorcerer or whatever who inexplicably chose middle-of-nowhere Ohio for his evil purposes."

Rachel sighed. _Business as usual_.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, so... This is a Rachel-is-a-vampire-Slayer fic. If you kind of like it, think it's hilarious, or think it should be euthanized, please tell me in a review! I seriously have no idea why I wrote this, but if you guys like it enough for me to continue (but I probably will anyway), I have some big Finchel plans for the next chapter! Please review so I know I'm not the only crazy Buffy fan in this world!**


	2. Chapter 2

If Finn was sure of one thing at the moment, it was that girls were certainly not allowed in the boys' weight room, as it was connected to the boys' locker room. If he was sure of one other thing, it was that neither he nor any of the other guys around him was going to tell Rachel Berry.

She was wailing on their punching bag, not resting for even a second, and without even one visible drop of sweat. She was grunting with every punch she threw, but they were high-pitched, little, girly grunts, way different than the ones he'd hear on the football field. Then there was her outfit—a tight sports tank and hot pink short shorts—a get-up he was sure a guy wouldn't be caught dead in. Suddenly, she jumped in the air and landed a kick in the center of the bag with both her feet, and then swung her leg around to kick it again. The metal clasp that attached the heavy bag to the ceiling creaked ominously, and Rachel's hands flew to her mouth and she stepped back. Finn was glad she'd stopped (though he could watch her fight for hours), because he was pretty sure the Beiste would give her hell if she broke the punching bag.

But… how the _hell_ did that tiny-ass Rachel Berry almost break the punching bag?

She breathed heavily, finally showing signs of tiredness from her workout. She grabbed her towel and started to walk out, almost running into Finn and the rest of the guys who were watching her.

"Oh! Hey, Finn and… boys." She wiped her face nervously. "How are you?" she asked, looking at Finn.

"I'm good." Puck cleared his throat loudly. "Oh, this is Puck, Sam, and Mike," he introduced. Rachel smiled widely at the boys right behind Finn. "How's your second day?" he asked automatically.

"It's annoyingly the same. The teachers still don't have an inkling of respect for me."

The other boys seemed to get bored now that Rachel wasn't acting like the Energizer Bunny, so they went to their respective workouts. "Too bad. What are you doing in the boys' weight room?"

Her eyes went wide. "This is only for boys? I had no idea. I was just in here because I had a double free and nothing to do. I should probably go take a shower now. Why are all of you in here?"

Finn had to take a second to un-stick his tongue from the roof of his mouth, because innocent Rachel was turning him on like crazy with her girl-grunting and talk of showers. "We all chose this for gym period."

She groaned wistfully. "Wish I could do that. I _hate_ team sports."

"Yeah; I guess they're not for everyone." He randomly noticed her bare hands. "Hey, shouldn't you be wearing some type of protection when punching the shit out of that bag?" He took her hand in his to see if there were bruises.

She gave him a scared look and immediately recoiled. "Yeah, I guess. I've never really used gloves before."

He abruptly remembered the message his mom had given him for her. "By the way, my mom wanted to say she was really sorry for your loss, and she loved Leroy like a brother, so, yeah… I say the same. She also said she wants you and Hiram to come over for dinner tonight because she's making this awesome pot roast. It's like a taste party in your mouth. I think you'd really like it. If your dad's into the idea, tell him to call my mom. She really wants to see you again." He breathed rather deeply; he'd given his whole speech quite fast, trying to get the emotional weirdness out of the way.

Rachel was still looking at her feet. "Thank you for your condolences. I'll notify my Daddy about your gracious invitation and I look forward to spending time with you and your mother tonight." She quickly walked out the door.

Probably to take a shower, because she was sweaty after all that bouncing around in the tank top that was so tight he could see she totally wasn't wearing a bra.

_Shut up, brain_.

Finn went to lift some weights, and his friends predictably began to interrogate him about Rachel.

"So you know that hot little piece of ass?" asked Puck.

"Yeah; our parents are old friends. And she's not a _piece of ass_; she's Rachel."

"Whatever. Point is: Rachel is hot, and you haven't dated anyone since Quinn ditched you."

"Ditched me for _you_."

"Like you cared."

Puck was right—Finn hadn't really cared as much as he thought he would when Quinn started dating Puck a week after she dumped him. Still, _major_ bro code violation.

"Maybe you should get a hold of her, man. She seems cool, and cute girlfriends are awesome," said Mike.

"I don't know. She, like, jumped away when I touched her hand. And she's got weird mood swings. Both times we talked, she ran away 'cause I must have said something wrong. I don't know if I could deal with her."

"Dude. The crazy or messed-up chicks always give it up faster. _Get on that_," advised Puck.

"Okay. Even I was offended by that," said Mike.

"Because you're always whipped, girlfriend or not," replied Puck.

"Well, our parents are planning dinner or something. Maybe she'll be more open when she's forced to talk to me," said Finn.

"Evans, what do you think? Should Hudson get some pussy so he stops acting like one?" Puck directed at Sam.

"I dunno. I think I agree with Finn. There's something strange about her," said Sam, his face thoughtful.

"You guys have no balls," said Puck, rolling his eyes and continuing to lift weights.

. : .

"I think we need to talk about your wardrobe."

Rachel gasped, looking dramatically hurt. She was in Mr. Schue's office again, no doubt so he could plan every last second of her day. Not that she minded meticulous scheduling, but she was normally the one to do it. "Why?"

"It's a bit… out there," he said. "It's cute—very you. But I'm not sure how the other students here will feel about it."

She set her shoulders, ready to defend herself. "First of all, this mode of dress actually made me blend in back in Portland, because I went to a performing arts school where you were weird if you didn't have some sort of quirk. Second of all, my clothes are all exceedingly comfortable, and I always make sure to wear bike shorts under my skirts. Third of all, there's nothing wrong with standing out. Fourth of all, I don't give a flying rat what anyone thinks of me."

Mr. Schue sat back in his chair, not completely defeated. "A Slayer needs to be stealthy; she needs to work under the radar. We can't have you attracting too much attention in this school."

She pouted. "So I guess staring in the musical is a 'no,' then?"

"I'm afraid so. But you don't want to do the musical; it's always god-awful because Mr. Ryerson directs it. You should join the Glee club!"

Rachel arched an eyebrow. "Show choir?"

"You'll love it! The group numbers are amazing, and we have such a diverse community of singers! We even have a few jocks and some cheerleaders in the club." He seemed excited at the prospect of a new member.

"Er… great. But won't putting me in such a wonderful club make me one of the stars of the school?"

His face fell a little bit. "Well, the Glee kids aren't exactly_ loved_ by everyone else…"

She made the connection quickly. "So, you don't want me to be a star so badly that you want me so far under the radar that I'm _sub-basement_?"

"Rachel, just come to one rehearsal to audition. I'm sure you'll love it. Also, I run the Glee club, so we can always train right after practice is over."

"Oh, fantastic. I'll have no life."

"From what Holly told me, I'm just glad you're alive."

. : .

Rachel walked briskly out of Mr. Schue's office; she needed to go start planning her audition piece. She could risk missing lunch for something as important as a performance. Of course, she hadn't sung since _before_… so she might be a little rusty.

In her pre-performance excitement, she accidentally bumped into someone else. She looked up. _It had to be Finn. Oh, he must think I'm so very normal. _

"Wow, Rachel. You look like you're on a mission," he joked.

"I am! I have to plan my audition piece for the Glee club. I do love performing, you know."

His face brightened. "I'm in Glee, too. Did you call your dad about dinner with my mom tonight?"

"Yes, and he said he'd be delighted to go."

"We were gonna eat dinner at seven, so you could just come back to my house after Glee's over. I'm sure my mom wants to freak out over how much you've grown or something."

Rachel pushed down her happiness. Her eyes narrowed. "Exactly what are you trying to do, Finn Hudson?"

"Uh… carpool so your dad doesn't have to pick you up?" he answered, confused at her sudden change in attitude. He just wanted to spend more time with her to see if he actually had a chance.

"Okay, Finn. That had better be it. If you get _fresh_ with me, I will not like it. I don't want any sort of romantic male attention. Got it?" She crossed her arms under her chest and gave him a dagger-shooting glare.

Keeping his eyes decidedly on her face, he replied, "Totally. No freshness. We're friends, right? It sucks to be in a new school all alone. I was just trying to be nice."

Her eyes softened. "Good. Sorry for the outburst." She stepped around Finn and kept walking to the dance room.

Finn watched her go. _Yup. Totally weird. _He tilted his head a little and continued to watch her walk to see if her skirt would oh-so-innocently fly up.

. : .

"Why, hello Miss Rachel Berry," said a boy in a tweed suit to Rachel when she walked into the choir room.

She slowed down a little in shock. "Oh. You know who I am?"

"New girl, big news. Small towns love gossip like that. So what's your deal?" he asked. She noticed that practically everyone in the room was looking at her expectantly.

"Oh, I'm not news at all. I'm much more interested to meet you, since we will be club mates," she said, gripping the bottom of her leather jacket. She'd become a master of avoiding questions.

She gets withering introductions from three cheerleaders, Brittany and Santana and Quinn, who seemed none too interested in her arrival, while everyone else is a bit warmer.

"I'm Kurt," said the boy who'd sort of accosted her. "Don't mind them," he whispered. "I'm pretty sure they're here as spies for their cheerleading coach."

"Mercedes, and, yes, you have finally met this future star of this school," said the only black girl in the room.

"Lauren. Future heavyweight champ," said a large girl with large glasses.

"I'm Tina, and this is Mike," said an Asian girl, holding onto the arm of her Asian boyfriend.

"We've met. Sam and Puck, right?" asked Rachel, pointing to the remaining boys in the room. They nodded in her direction.

"How did you meet?" Tina asked.

"Walked in on her in the boys' locker room," said Puck with a vulgar grin.

Rachel blushed. "I was working out in the weight room, which I didn't know was off limits to girls. I think it rather unfair that we women have no place to practice fighting. It's quite important to be ready against an attacker, you know."

"I doubt you need any more practice," said Finn, who had just walked in. He sat in front of Puck. "She really knows how to punch the crap out of someone," he informed the others.

"All right, guys," said Mr. Schuester. "We have an audition today. You've met all the others?" Rachel nodded. "Take it away."

She was a little nervous about her song choice. It was personal, supposed to be cathartic, but with the blatant nosiness she wasn't sure if she wanted to sing it.

She could always skirt the truth about Jesse when someone cared enough to ask her. After informing the band of her decision, she sucked in a breath and began.

"_I can't believe what you said to me  
__Last night when we were alone  
__You threw your hands up  
__Baby you gave up, you gave up_

_I can't believe how you looked at me  
__With your James Dean glossy eyes  
__In your tight jeans with your long hair  
__And your cigarette stained lies_

_Could we fix you if you broke?  
__And is your punch line just a joke?_

_I'll never talk again  
__Oh, boy, you've left me speechless  
__You've left me speechless, so speechless_"

Her voice grabbed attention, like it always does. She didn't really dance to the song, because it didn't have that kind of beat, but she did feel her emotions so powerfully that she had to push, _push_ them away.

She continued to sing strongly and intensely, and she felt something restoring inside of her. When the fighting had started, she'd stopped singing regularly because vampires and demons were coming at her from all sides. Little did she know they'd been sent by the one person she'd thought she'd loved more than life itself. She was such a silly girl back then, falling in love far too easily before she could see the consequences of her actions. The lyrics weren't really true anymore: she was singing now and she was no longer speechless, but the ballad was helping her release her repressed feelings. She geared up for the big finish, to really impress her peers.

"_I'll never love again  
__So speechless  
__You left me speechless, so speechless  
__Why you so speechless, so speechless?_

_Will you ever talk again?  
__Oh boy, why you so speechless?  
__You've left me speechless so speechless_

_Some men may follow me  
__But you choose 'death and company'  
__Why you so speechless? Oh oh oh._"

Mr. Schue and Finn are the first to clap, but she notices Kurt wiping tears. Even the cheerleaders gave her reluctant ovation. She smiled, actually feeling pervasive happiness and thrill for the first time in a month. She_ loved_ this feeling of admiration. As the Slayer, she had to work in secret, never getting thanked for stopping the apocalypse, but as a performer, everybody loved her.

"Looks like we've got a new diva. Welcome to New Directions," said Mr. Schue. Rachel took her seat with an air of triumph. "Now, let's talk about _ballads_, since we had that great demonstration from Rachel."

The time went by quickly, and Rachel had honest-to-God _fun_ with all of these people. They were all hilarious and enjoyed breaking out in random song, just like her friends back at her old school. By the time it was over, she was actually excited to go home and relay all the details to her Daddy.

"Rachel? Are you coming?" asked Finn.

Mr. Schue gave her a look. "One second, Finn," she said beaming, running up to Mr. Schue. "Can I _please_ skip training today? I worked out during my double free, and I have to have dinner with Finn's and my family."

Mr. Schue smiled. "Sure, you can go. There's no Glee tomorrow after school, so you're training for double the amount of time. I've got some new techniques for you."

Rachel stopped herself from groaning at the future bodily soreness. "Great!" She walked over to Finn, who offered to take her backpack. "Oh, thank you. That's quite chivalrous."

"Uh, cool. That's a good thing, right?" he asked.

"That's a _great_ thing."

While they were walking out to his car, Rachel barraged him with questions about the Glee club and everyone in it. She wanted to be thoroughly prepared for all upcoming rehearsals.

Then she heard it, the tiniest trace of a sound that only a Slayer could detect. It was a soft '_no_,' and it had to be a girl's voice. She stopped Finn in the middle of a story about Mr. Schue's vest, and ran in the direction of the noise. He stayed behind, confused again.

She easily found them next to the school building: a young blonde girl, a large boy with his hands on the wall on either side of her, trapping her. Rachel had been in that position too many times. As quickly as she could, she grabbed the boy by the front of the shirt and slammed him into the wall, a little away from the girl.

"Rachel! What the hell are you doing?" Quinn yelled shrilly. _Quinn?_

"Wasn't he hurting you?" she asked, slightly frazzled.

"No! Puck is my boyfriend!"

Rachel looked at the boy she had pinned to the wall, and it was indeed Puck. He looked very angry at being taken away from his girlfriend. "What the fuck?" he spat.

"Oh, I thought… I'm sorry. I thought I heard you saying no, or something," she said, embarrassed, setting Puck on the ground.

"Yes! I told him I didn't want to give him a blowjob in an alley, but that's no reason to attack him!"

Rachel ran away quickly, but not before she heard Quinn say, "What a _freak_."

So there it was again. She was the school freak, the outcast, the girl so far under the radar she was sub-basement.

She brushed off Finn's questions and took the subject back to Glee for the duration of the ride home. She didn't want him to know yet that she was a weirdo who pulled boys away form their girlfriends, not that he didn't already think she was crazy. _Stop_ _caring what he thinks of you_, she told herself. She did _not_ need any sort of male relationship right now other than friendship, because the wounds Jesse had left were still fresh, if today's song proved anything to her. It was simply impossible for a Slayer to fall in love without complications. She couldn't foist those complications on Finn. God, she was even getting too intense when they'd known each other for _two days_. She was less than a little bit ready to be in a relationship again.

. : .

"Oh, Carole, do you remember when Finn and Rachel used to play together?" said Hiram a little too loudly.

"Of course!" yelled Carole back. They were both a little tipsy. "They pretended to be a crime-fighting team, like Wonder Woman and Superman. It was _adorable_."

"I think this is our cue to leave," said Finn, motioning for Rachel to follow him to the kitchen with her plate. "Did you like dinner?"

"It was wonderful! I'm so glad I'm not a vegan anymore so I could enjoy it," she replied.

"Vegan?"

"It means I didn't eat any animal by-products. I had to start eating meat again because my workout was getting a bit too strenuous and vegan food wasn't really sustaining me."

"Meat is always better. So… do you wanna watch a move while we wait for our parents to sober up? My mom has a copy of _Twilight_; I know girls like that," he said without much enthusiasm for the movie choice.

Rachel's eyes widened. "Do _not_ get me started on that! I'd like to watch something_ good_, please. I would prefer either a musical or a superhero movie."

Finn grinned. "Same old Rachel, apparently. Can we watch _Kick-Ass_?"

She giggled while she followed him to the living room. "Same old Finn."

While watching the movie, Finn tried his luck with Rachel again. Sure, she _said_ she didn't want/need male attention, but what kind of girl actually meant that? Case in point: when Quinn dumped him, she said she needed to be alone for a while, which actually meant a week.

In the scene when Hit Girl was killing everybody in the apartment, he said, "You know, most girls get kind of freaked out by all the blood and would probably want some protection from the strong arm next to them."

She turned to him with fierceness in her eyes. "Finn Hudson, what did I say about male attention?"

He scooted a bit closer to her. "That it's welcomed and well-received?"

"Not at all."

He draped her arm around her shoulders. "Relax. I don't bite."

Rachel laughed sardonically. "You're the only one."

He didn't really get what she meant by that, so instead he used his other hand to tuck her head to his chest. "Relax," he whispered.

She stayed there, not knowing what in the hell she was thinking. Finn was adorable, and seemed to like her. She didn't need to remind herself of what had happened the last time a boy whispered sweet nothings in her ear.

She didn't move. Her head was against Finn's chest, right over his heart. She could hear it beating out of control, just like hers. It was something they had in common already that was missing with Jesse. Finn began to stroke her arm; goosebumps sprouted there. Lying against his body just felt so…_ nice_. She wanted to hold herself back, but her eager heart was urging her into his arms. After a while, his hand gripped the side of her waist, and that felt even better. She put her head on his shoulder and her hand over his heart. She'd never felt so at peace.

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**Thanks to all the people who reviewed the first chapter! I'm way more excited for you to read this one. I also found a Glee/Buffy crossover fic in which Rachel is a Slayer, but I _swear_ that this will be nothing like that. Please review! I'm really excited to know what you guys think. I'm not so crazy about parts of this chapter, but I'm sure you'll give me constructive criticism. Thanks as well to anyone who took the time to read this! Could you drop me a line about it? *shameless begging for reviews*  
Also, the song Rachel sang for her audition was "Speechless" by Lady GaGa. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi, fellow Buffy/Glee fans! I can't thank you enough for all the good feelings and reviews you're sending my way-it's like applause, and, like Tinkerbell, I die without it. I put the author's note at the beginning this time to warn you that Finn and Rachel get a bit melodramatic. TO BE FAIR, I am simply taking my cues from Buffy's relationships. Anyway, leave me a review to tell me what you think! I hope inspiration will keep striking me quickly, but it is a weekday again (ugh). Okay, done rambling.**

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"She, like, grabbed him and threw him on the wall. I have no idea what she was thinking, but she must be totally _insane_," whispered Quinn to Brittany and Santana. "I mean, if she must want Puck really bad. But she obviously can't have him." She crossed her arms haughtily.

"I bet she's some crazy lesbian and has girl-wood for you," snickered Santana. "You might want to keep Puck to protect you from her."

"Santana, I thought you said you liked lesbians," Brittany pouted.

"Not the time, Brittz," said Santana when Quinn eyed them suspiciously. "But have you seen how she dresses? It's like a librarian on ecstasy. _And_ she wears the same damn jacket every day. Pathetic."

"That's rich coming from a girl who wears the same outdated cheerleader uniform every day," said Rachel, having just walked into the history room.

Santana's mouth curled into an unpleasant smirk. "Hey, Dwarf. Come to beat us up for moving in on your woman?" Quinn shifted uncomfortably. The joke wasn't so funny when Rachel was around.

Rachel gave Santana a big smile (the falseness of which was indeterminable), and said, "Quinn should be thanking me. From where I was standing, it could have easily been an attacker."

Quinn huffed. "I can handle myself."

"Yeah. What attacker would be scared of _you_?" sneered Santana.

"You have no idea," said Rachel solemnly.

"I don't," said Brittany.

Rachel leaned toward the little group. "I've done things you couldn't even imagine. I've fought fights I should have lost. And you know why I'm still here?" She paused for dramatic effect. "I don't take _bullshit_ from people who think they can tear me down."

All three sat shocked, and Quinn was just about to respond when Mr. Schue intervened: "Rachel. Let's have a quick talk in the hallway."

She shuffled out of the classroom to meet him. "For the record, they totally deserved it."

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course. Can you try not to intimidate the other students? We don't need them to be scared of you."

"Noted." She reentered the classroom with a hopefully even temper.

. : .

"Okay, I have an offer you can't refuse," said Finn confidently, striding up to Rachel, who was exchanging books from her locker.

"Please tell me it doesn't have anything to do with the mafia," she quipped.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Anyway," he continued cautiously. "I think you should come to my house again. We can watch _Spiderman_."

"How many superhero movies do you own?" she chuckled.

"All of 'em. We can watch one every day."

She closed her locker. "Finn, you're really nice. I like you, but I don't want to lead you on."

"Who's leading who on? We both like superhero movies. I don't see a problem."

She fiddled with the zipper on her jacket. "The problem is that I think you want to start something with me. I'm telling right now that you don't want to do that."

"Whoa, slow down. We've basically known each other two days, since we don't remember when we were two. I just wanna get to know you better, as a friend."

"See? I _am_ crazy," she grumbled.

He laughed. "Whatever. So that's a yes for tonight?"

"I'd love to, but I have to stay after school for training," she answered without thinking.

"Training?"

"Oh, um…" She scrabbled for a good excuse. "I have to stay with Mr. Schuester to go over choreography for the group numbers, with Regionals coming up and everything." She almost punched the air in triumph because of her quick thinking. Although she should technically be unshakeable under stress, Finn seemed to make her nervous. She was clouded by his cute smile and had trouble thinking straight. She really had to stop letting him do that to her.

He shrugged. "Come over after. Bye." He walked to class, leaving her deliberating.

. : .

"You killed a vampire the other night. I'll give you that," said Mr. Schue, pacing around Rachel in the choir room. "But with your move, you're definitely out of practice."

Rachel was bored; she stood with her fish on her hip and her eyes on the ceiling, trying to relay to Mr. Schue that she didn't need this. She was a great fighter and was in no way rusty.

He'd circled behind her. "I know I'm boring you. It's okay; I'll get you on your toes soon enough."

He made a move to lock her arms behind her, but she cut him off and dragged his arm downwards, pulling the rest of his upper body as well.

"Holly Holiday's first rule of fighting: always make the attacker think you're not paying attention," said Rachel, letting Mr. Schue out of her hold.

Rather than being embarrassed, he looked quite pleased. "Great! Your reflexes are top notch. Now, how much experience have you had with an axe?"

Rachel clapped her hands and jumped up and down. "Enough to think they're the _best_!" She surveyed the dummies on the other side of the room. "So that's what the women are for."

He brought her a single and a double-sided axe to practice with. "Remember: it's all about the follow through."

She set up a dummy and took a long single axe to start. She faced away from it, breathed deeply, and placed her target. She swung.

And missed.

"Okay. I guess I can admit that I'm a little bit rusty when it comes to axes."

Mr. Schue smiled. "Only a noble Slayer can recognize her shortcomings."

"But I have no others."

"Of course."

. : .

Rachel walked down the streets of West Lima with an axe in her tote bag. After three long hours of practice, Mr. Schue had deemed her axe skills adequate for patrol, so that's where she was. He went back to his apartment to keep reading the old prophecy books, so he could try to find anything to indicate the "calling." They were both pretty sure it was some sort of sorcerer, but they didn't know how or why.

She pondered the different options she'd read about during her studies. _Could it be the Harvest? A Hellmouth opening? No, that's in Cleveland… Why the hell do the monsters care about Lima? _

Her frustration with the lack of knowledge was putting her in a mood to slay some demons. It was just her luck that when she wanted to get into a tussle the demons were laying low.

Her phone beeped with a text message. It was from Finn. _Coming over 2nite?_ She'd almost forgotten! Since the streets were relatively safe tonight, she decided it might not be such a bad thing to spend the rest of the night with a cute (okay, kind of sexy) boy in whom she was only interested platonically.

Then, typically, she heard a feral rumble from the side of the building she was in front of. She ran quickly towards the struggle and grabbed the vampire by the shoulders and pulled him off the boy she was assaulting. She quickly turned the inappropriately dressed vampire around and held her arms tight to her sides. "Hi. I'm Rachel. You're going to die for real now." She looked at the terrified boy. "_Go_." He complied immediately, holding his bitten neck as he ran. "And call 911!" advised Rachel

"Slayer?" growled out the vampire.

"The one and only. And you should only wear a dress that short if you have the legs to work it," Rachel jibed. She knew she was being reckless, but she needed to kick some ass. She assumed the Slayer was allowed to rile up vampires once in a while.

Her eyes widened at the insult, and she snarled and came at Rachel with teeth bared. Rachel could tell she was a young vampire; her arms were up in a typical "arr" stance and she had no ferocity behind her grip. Rachel easily pinned her to the wall and decided to try and get some information again. "Clearly, you've never fought before. How did you even get by before? Feminine wiles?"

She growled again. "I will end you."

"It doesn't seem like you're in the best position to be making threats." She pulled her stake out of her jacket arm. "Now, tell me things I want to know. You're here because there was a 'calling.'" The vampire remained silent, so she pressed the stake hard to her chest. "Now."

She leered smugly. "Girlie, you'll have no idea what hit you."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I've dealt with worse."

"Jesse always said you were too confident for your own good."

Rachel's blood turned to ice. "What about Jesse?"

"He was my sire."

"He's dead."

"That's what vampires are."

"You know what? You're not helpful at all." She drove the stake into the vampire's heart. "He's _dead_," she repeated. _He must have done it before he got caught in the gym. He was always making new recruits. But why would she even be here?_

She texted Mr. Schue that patrolling went okay (she would tell him the slightly disturbing bit tomorrow), and she texted Finn that she was coming over. Her dad wasn't home tonight, and slaying always made her hungry.

. : .

Finn was happy to have Rachel at his doorstep. Like, _really_ happy. He didn't think that was a good thing, as their whole friend thing had been made clear a few times already.

It didn't stop him, though, from noticing that her body was way hotter than he knew before because it had always been hidden under that leather jacket, or thinking it was hot that she had a huge appetite and was chomping down on the ravioli leftover from dinner. She saw his amused stare and got adorably flustered. "I get really hungry after a lot of dancing. I know a hearty appetite is generally not seen among girls of my size, but I seem to need a lot of sustenance to keep from getting underweight."

"Nah, it's cool." If he were a grosser guy, he would probably say, _I like a girl who can take a lot in her mouth_. He really had to get his imagination in check; like he'd told her, they hadn't even known each other for that long. He'd never had such a strong reaction to a girl before. As soon as he'd checked out her Facebook (when his mom told him she was moving here), he was pretty much addicted to looking at her pictures. He felt creepy, but that was today's internet. He was hooked on Rachel Berry before he'd even met her. He was a little worried when he'd first talked to her, though, because she looked a lot sadder than she did in her pictures—it probably had something to do with the move. He basically did an internal victory dance when she against him like she did last night (but he was a little worried his heart would beat out of control). He started toying with the ends of her silky hair, and she didn't scold him for doing so. She was holding him back, for whatever reason, but he knew she wanted him too. A girl like her was worth the wait.

By the end of the movie, he can feel hot tears on his chest. "What's wrong?"

"It's just so terribly sad," she paused to swallow her sobs, "how Peter has to leave behind Mary Jane. His destiny is inescapable, you know? And when they're together, it almost doesn't work out. It probably wouldn't have in real life." She smiled weakly at him. "He's my favorite superhero, if you can't tell."

"Yeah," said Finn, staring deep into her eyes. They were so close to each other; it would be so easy to kiss her right now.

They stayed mostly still. Rachel stroked his chest while he moved his hand up and down her back. "This… us… it's happening so fast." She gulped. "It's scary."

He decided honesty was the best policy. "I feel the same way. I've never liked someone like you before." His eyes dropped to her lips. "I want to kiss you so bad."

She almost let him, but she wasn't so cruel. She couldn't drag him into her complications; she already cared about him too much. "We barely know each other."

His mouth was centimeters from hers. "Not true. We spent all of dinner last night catching up."

"We agreed to be friends."

"I change my mind."

If she let him in, he would die. She was absolutely sure of it. Whatever dark power in Lima would want to meet her soon enough, and it would want to take away everything and everybody she loved. Just like Jesse did. For her, partial honesty was the best policy. "I'm not just some nice girl you can date. If you care for me at all, you'll die."

His mouth hadn't moved. "Might die if I don't kiss you."

She almost laughed. "Isn't that a little dramatic?"

"You started it." He pushed his lips to hers.

She tried to pull away, but she just… it was so warm. Totally unlike the deathly cold kisses she was used to. In fact, warmth spread through her entire body, all the way to her fingertips, and her blood was rushing at breakneck speeds around her body. He brought his hand to cup her cheek and opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, nudging her to do the same. His hot breath went in her mouth, and she could barely contain herself. She felt so connected to him; their _breaths_ were intermingling. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rubbed her finger along his spine. His hand moved to her neck, while the other was burning on her hip. She poked the inside of his cheek with her tongue, drawing his into her mouth so she could suck on it. His breath was enveloping her. Everything about him was just so _hot_.

For his part, he wondered why he didn't kiss her the moment he saw her, because this was honestly the most intense experience of his life so far. He knew she was refusing him, but she got into it as much as, if not more than, he did as soon as they started making out. He seriously didn't expect such a hot kiss, let alone any tongue action. He started to stir down there a bit, because she just tasted so damn good, so he tried to keep her preoccupied to take away attention from his lower half. There was a slow burn taking over his body, and he knew that he would catch on fire and explode in the most embarrassing of ways. He pulled her closer by the waist, pushing his tongue into her mouth only for her to claim it, and it felt so good to lay his hand on the soft skin of her neck and hold her hip, his fingers nearly brushing her backside.

When they finally tore away from each other, because they both thought they were going to pass out, he stared at her in awe and she gave him a dreamy smile. There were in a strange position: she was lying across him and his hands were still around her neck and hip with him leaning over her. He squeezed his fingers almost on her butt and said, "I don't think I can be just a friend."

"Unoriginal, but true," she replied. "I'm going to go. We'll talk about this tomorrow when our hormones aren't raging uncontrollably."

As he watched her walk away from his house, he knew that was impossible. His body and even more so his heart were already crazy for Rachel Berry.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry this took a while! My annoying life got in the way. I hope you guys find this chapter fun! I liked writing it, anyway. I prefer it so much to studying endless French grammar.**

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"Am I allowed to be in here? I was under the impression it was boys only. I find that rule incredibly unfair, though," babbled Rachel.

Mr. Schue smiled. "Don't worry, Rachel. I got you a permission form from Coach Beiste, so there's no problem. We can train in here every time you have a free last period so you have some down time before patrolling." He held a long pole in front of him. "I'm going to attack you with a pole."

She raised an eyebrow. "A pole? I think the demon folk prefer claws and fangs."

"They lay their hands on whatever they can get. You need to be prepared for all modes of attack."

"I find your lessons random and unconnected."

"Would you argue that fighting isn't?"

Rachel nodded in assent. "Okay. This will ultimately be helpful."

"Good. Just so you know, I'm very skilled at fighting with a pole." He gave her a second's rest, and then swung the pole under her, meaning to knock her off her feet. She jumped quickly to avoid it, and grabbed the pole after she landed. She jerked it upward so his grip slid off, then pushed him to the ground. She placed one foot behind the other and leaned slightly on the pole, checking her nails in put-upon indifference. Mr. Schue smiled. "Good work. It's nice to know that you're comfortable enough around me to kick my ass."

"I don't play it any other way. And you've told me the stories, Mr. Schue. You were quite the fighter in your day." She grabbed his hand and hauled him up.

"Nowhere near Slayer good, though. Ready for target practice?"

"Now, that, I definitely need help on."

He took the pole and leaned it against the lockers. "So I'm not completely useless."

. : .

"Where is Mr. Schue? I do _not_ have time to wait around for his lazy ass all day," complained Santana.

"Because your other extracurricular is so important to society," said Kurt listlessly.

Before Santana could jump out of her seat to tackle Kurt, Mr. Schue hurried in with apologies. "Sorry, guys. I was going over choreography with Rachel. She won't be behind anymore."

"Wow, Schue. You're spending a lot of time with the new recruit," said Santana.

He turned to face her sternly. "Completely inappropriate, Santana."

"Come on. Like you all weren't thinking it."

Finn frowned. "No, we weren't. You just like to tear people down."

"Exactly," said Kurt. "And on a list of people most likely to be caught in the act with a teacher—"

"Guys! We don't need all this unnecessary bitterness!" snapped Mr. Schue. "Cool it. We're a _team_. Now, keep it civil while I get some sheet music." He went into his office.

Rachel chose that moment to jog into the room. "Sorry for my tardiness, fellow glee clubbers! A future star is normally prompt in any and all appearances." The rest of the club stared at her. "I really didn't think it would be that much of an issue. Are you offended by my casual dress? I'm just going to stop talking." She sat down in the first row, folded her hands on her lap, and leaned forward to engage herself in the lesson (and forget her fresh embarrassment).

"Damn, girl. It took you forever to shut up," said Mercedes with a chuckle.

"For real. Do you have an off switch?" asked Brittany. Rachel blushed, but she wasn't exactly able to tell if Brittany was kidding or not.

"Guys, come on," said Finn. "She's one of us. Don't rag on her." She shot him a glowing look.

"Finn, we ain't hating. I bet all us guys were appreciating the view from those shorts," complimented Artie.

"Why are you always such a misogynist?" demanded Quinn.

"He's kinda right, babe," said Puck appreciatively. Quinn gasped and smacked the back of his head.

"Guys! Could you _not_? Focus on your own drama!" barked Finn. He was happy to be rewarded with another look of admiration from Rachel before Kurt got her into a conversation about doing a GaGa tribute on Broadway.

He felt pretty skeevy thinking it, but Rachel did look hot in her workout clothes. He grew up with just a mom, so he obviously learned to respect women and all that jazz; his friends (especially Puck and Artie) weren't so much in the same boat. He could deal with their normal locker-room talk, but Rachel was different. He wanted to appraise her hot metallic pink short shorts and pink poodle t-shirt, but he wanted the other guys to _back the hell off_. If she wanted to date anybody, he was sure it would have to be a good guy who grew up in a woman-respecting house, and was, like, really tall to offset her shortness. He should be the only one allowed to stare at how her shorts were like a second skin and _holy shit_ her skin looked so smooth and he needed to touch her or he would… He wasn't sure. He just really, _really_ wanted to be alone with her again.

He quickly got himself in check when Mr. Schue walked in. "I want to try something new today. I know you guys like pop songs best, but how about we try some classic rock?" Finn perked up. That was his favorite genre. "We're gonna do 'Don't Stop Believin'' by Journey. I arranged it so it can be a duet. Finn, think you can handle the guy's part?" Finn popped out of his seat and grabbed the music Mr. Schue was holding out for him.

"I guess I'll do the other part, but I'm not the biggest fan of Journey," declared Quinn.

Mercedes scoffed. "Girl, that solo should go to me. I work harder than all y'all."

"Stuff it, Wheezy. I'm perfect to offset Finn's total lack of game," said Santana.

"How about we do something _unconventional_? I'll sing it. You know I can hit the high notes," goaded Kurt.

"I'm more talented than all of you," offered Brittany.

"Girls, Kurt, calm down. I'm giving the solo to Rachel." The girl in question rolled her shoulders back and smiled widely. "She needs to practice putting herself out there." Santana opened her mouth to say something nasty. "I won't hear a word against it—everyone deserves a chance, like I've given to all of you. You'll learn the harmonies with _glowing happiness_ while Finn and Rachel work on some rough choreography. You'll basically just walk around each other for now," he directed at them.

"Cool," Finn said. He grabbed Rachel's hand (her cheeks pinkened) and he took her to the hallway to work.

Rachel scrunched her nose. "Is it like that every time there's a solo?"

"Pretty much, but the guys can be worse if it's a really ballin' song. I think I'm the only one who's mega-into Journey," explained Finn. "You didn't get into the fight that much."

"I guess I only like to fight for the consequential parts of life," she said with a melancholy look on her face.

"Hey, what's wrong? You got the solo for, like, the best song ever."

Rachel smiled at Finn's sweetness. "It's great. I'm happy. I haven't had so much time for this stuff in the past year because of… things. I missed performing a lot." She wouldn't unload her troubles on him; he was much too wonderful to be dragged down by her problems.

"Things?"

He was awfully persistent. She decided to give him a part of the truth, like she always had to do; she knew it would be worse to leave him completely in the dark about her abrupt mood swings. "I had to grow up a lot last year. Especially in the last few months, with dad and other people dying and all that. It was a big… thing." He still hadn't let go of her hand. She wouldn't admit to herself how much it comforted her.

"I know it's, like, really raw right now, but you'll tell me someday, right? I know I haven't know you long, but…" he squeezed, "I, like, want to be that guy you confide in." Her head snapped up suddenly. "I knew it. Too much. I just shouldn't ever tell girls what I'm thinking." He started to pull his hand out of hers.

She gripped his hand harder and put her other one around his neck. "No, you's perfect. Amazing. So human." Before he could wonder what that meant, she drew him down to kiss her, their lips having already gotten used to each other last night. His other arm circled her waist, and he dropped his head a little more to kiss her harder. He parted her lips with his tongue, desperately wanted to get a little more of her, and he tasted oranges, and _god_ she was pressing so close to him—

"Finchel, Mr. Schue says stop making out and start dancing," said Kurt dully before slamming the choir room door.

Rachel jumped away from Finn with her hand over her mouth, giggling like a maniac. "I guess we should work. I have so many ideas! How extensive is your jazz dance background?"

He stared at her blankly.

"I guess I'll just have to guide you," she sighed. "Let's make sure your hips are good and loose."

He smiled slyly. "I think I need a lot of help with that."

She blushed. It was weird not to be the first to admit feelings in a relationship. With Jesse, she had screamed and cried how much she needed and loved him, while he kept insisting that he was completely wrong for her. It was all part of his game, though; he never even cared for her a little bit. He just wanted to eliminate the threat.

As she held onto Finn's waist, seeing blood rush to his cheeks as well, she knew this was different. He cared for her, wanted her, chased her. It was fast, she knew, but since she had a destiny that would probably kill her before she turned 20, she had to throw herself into life. As long as the relationship she was throwing herself into did not involve a vampire; she had to be careful about that.

. : .

Two hours later, Mr. Schue had deemed everyone's efforts a good start, but they all needed to practice and get it perfect. "I don't even want it off by one thirty-second note," he said as he dismissed them.

"We'll stay behind and rehearse a bit more," said Finn.

"Good. Practice that high B; I know you have it in you," Mr. Schue said as he buttoned up his coat and left.

"Finn," Rachel said with a playful lilt to her voice as she played out a random melody on the piano. "I doubt your intentions are highly honorable at the moment."

"I'm not sure what you mean, but your shorts are, like, taunting me."

She walked to him laughing and laid her head on his chest. "I'm so embarrassed! The girls must think I'm such attention-seeking harlot."

He wrapped his arms around her. "Doesn't really matter. Cheerios are worse. I think you were getting more attention from the guys." Rachel gaped in horror. "Everyone knows you're my girl, now, so they'll totally back off."

She looked up at him. "Your girl?"

His mouth turned up in a grin and he shrugged. "I like you a lot, Rachel. I feel, like, good and even a little smart when we talk. You ask me about stuff I like, want to get my opinion and everything. I'm going for it with you."

She blinked back the wetness collecting in her eyes and closed her fists on the front of his shirt. "You have no idea how much I'm falling for you right now."

"Think I do." He leaned down to kiss her again, and they were both responding fantastically before she heard footsteps.

She was pretty sure everyone was gone, so she opened one eye to get a glimpse of the straggler. She saw the telltale face bumps (luckily he had yet to see them through the choir room door window) and instinct took over. She pushed Finn to the ground and cushioned his head with her hand. She held him down while the vampire approached. She heard him pause in front of the door, then continue down the hallway. She let out a breath of relief. She did not want Finn to witness her in full-on Slayer-mode yet.

"Mrmpfh," said Finn from under her. It was only then that her chest had landed pretty much on top of his face when she'd floored him. She placed her hands on either side of him and raised herself up so he could breathe again. "What happened?"

"I, um, I… thought I saw something." She craned her neck upwards to see out the window, in case there were any more vampires and demons roaming the halls. When she looked back down, Finn's eyes were fixed on her breasts. She bit her lip to hold back her burgeoning smile—it was so nice to be with a boy who didn't make her scream for his attention. "Enjoying the view?"

He blinked and looked back at her face. "The pink poodle's really working for you." He was relieved she wasn't hitting him for perving on her. In fact, she seemed to like it.

She almost leaned down to kiss him. Almost. Her duty came first. "I swear I'll be right back. Please stay here." She touched her lips lightly to his (she couldn't _completely_ resist) and jumped off of him before she could get too caught up.

Now, Finn had a problem. Her lying on top of him had left him a little too excited. He had two choices: relieve the tension himself, or try to get rid of it with his brainpower. He chose the latter, because Rachel could walk back in at any second, but he still wasn't so sure about the strength of his brainpower. He concentrated on the opposite of what he was just doing with Rachel in her super tight clothes and breathed deeply.

Rachel, on the other hand, had no stake but still had to kill the damn vampire. As she walked determinedly down the hall, she heard a terrified squeal. _Not again._ She picked up her pace in the direction of the terror until she finds the vamp sinking his teeth into poor, sweet, ignorant Brittany.

He'd hit a nerve.

She may have only been in glee club for a couple of days, but she could not tolerate anyone messing with her fellow music-lovers. She pulled him off of Brittany, who fell to the ground clutching her neck. Before he could even try to fight, she punched him squarely in the nose, and then roundhouse kicked the side of his head. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious. "Brittany," said Rachel with authority. "Go home and get yourself patched up. You're going to be okay."

Brittany sat still, completely terrified. "He was… so strong. I couldn't…"

Rachel knelt in front of her and placed her hands on Brittany's shoulders. "I'm about to get rid of him forever. He's evil, and he won't get to you again. Okay?"

Brittany nodded. "Thanks, Rachel." Suddenly, she lunged at Rachel and pulled her into a hug. "Thanks." Brittany released her and walked off to the parking lot.

Rachel smiled; she never really got acknowledged for her work. She started to drag the unconscious vampire to her locker, which was fortuitously close by, so she could use her extra stake on him.

Unfortunately, he groggily came to while she was putting in her combination. "Wha' happened?"

"Knocked you out. I'll do it again if you piss me off," said Rachel carelessly, pulling her locker open.

"I was sent to give you a message," he said, his head lolling to one side.

"Anything of consequence?" she asked skeptically.

"Jesse sends his regards."

Her anger flared up before she could stop it, manifesting itself in her so violently staking this useless vampire that she dented the locker against which she'd propped him. "He's dead," she repeated. It was like her mantra. _He's dead._

When she returned to Finn, he was still lying on the same place on the floor, staring up at her. "Everything okay?"

"Of course," she assured as she dragged him upright. "Can we go to my house to watch a movie? I need to change into something more acceptable for company."

"I like what you're wearing now. No jacket covering you up."

She almost jumped in delight—she wasn't wearing her jacket and she felt totally at ease! That _had_ to be progress. She would thoroughly kiss Finn later for his hand in this new development. "You like how these shorts are tight around my butt."

"No problem with that." He placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her to his car.

Finn was peaceful, fun, non-brooding. He welcomed her affection, encouraged it, instead of pushing her away because he didn't want her to get hurt when she realized her was all wrong for her (in hindsight, she really should have listened to Jesse's warnings, but she had been too caught up in the drama, which he knew would happen). Maybe this was a real relationship; maybe she was finally going to experience life with someone who had it. Rachel could forget about slayage for little parts of the day when she was with Finn. She could never thank him enough for that.

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**Leave me a review? I'll send you double virtual hugs! It's also the weekend, so I'll probably be able to post faster (though I make no promises based on my homework load...). I shamelessly beg you for constructive comments. *holds out bowl like in _Oliver Twist_***


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry I took so long to write this! I can only say that my teachers are evil. Hope you like it! Secrets are revealed!**

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She kissed him earnestly, rolling her tongue and tracing it along his teeth. He had one hand at her tailbone and one at her neck, pressing her upper body into his. It felt too good to stop, she tasted too good, but he had to clear things up. He wasn't the brightest, but he knew a good thing when he had it (and he thought he'd had it for about two weeks now), so he wanted to make sure he had her for real. He pulled his lips away from hers. "I need to talk to you about something."

She trailed her tongue down to his neck and started kissing it. "The discussion portion of our time is paused. We will now continue making out until your mother gets home."

"No, like, c'mon…" She was easily distracting him with her wandering lips. "I just wanna talk for a minute." He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her backwards. Although it wasn't totally helpful that she was sitting astride his lap.

She crossed her arms. "I do _not_ like being told what to do."

He placed a hand on her waist. "Don't worry. I just need a minute."

"Did you experience premature ejaculation?"

His eyes went wide and he sputtered random interrogatives. "How… I… you know what that is?"

She blushed momentarily. "Sorry. Continue with what you wanted to say."

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah… Anyway, I, like, consider you my girlfriend and everything, but I wanted to make sure you consider me your boyfriend."

"Isn't that a mutual decision?"

He got a bit nervous again. "I thought it should be, but my last girlfriend started hooking up with Puck, and she said it was okay because we'd been growing apart and she'd stopped considering me her boyfriend, but she didn't tell me."

Rachel was silent for a few seconds. "This was Quinn?"

"Yeah."

"What a _truly terrible_ person! I mean, she puts on this self-righteous image of chastity and perfection, but she cheats on one of the sweetest boys in the world. She has _no_ ethics. Don't you hate it when the genetically gifted think they can just… do whatever they want to people without consequence? What a manipulative trollop!"

Finn blinked. "She definitely likes to manipulate."

"Give me _one minute_ alone with her, and I _swear_ I will make her regret ever hurting you."

He chuckled. "Whoa, whoa. Calm down. It was a long time ago. She doesn't matter to what we are."

Her face was overtaken by a sudden gloom. "But… these beautiful people, they make us fall for them with their charm and good looks and promises, but it's all fake. It's all for a maleficent purpose."

"Yeah, she was just using me for popularity." Rachel was looking down, lost in unhappy thought. He traced two fingers to tuck a lock of hair behind her hear, then brought them under her chin to force eye contact. "I know that you're, like, sociopathic—"

"Empathic," she corrected, the corner of her mouth almost twitching into a smile.

"Right, yeah. I don't think this is about Quinn anymore."

"It's not."

"Wanna tell me?"

Her lip trembled. "His name was Jesse."

"Douchey name."

She smiled. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as she made it out in her head. "He was certainly a, um, douche. He had this… charm that I couldn't escape, though. He was gloomy and utterly cheerless; it was an act so he could make me think that I could change him. It was attractive, you know? That dark, give-me-your-love vibe he had." She hesitated; the hard part was coming up. Finn nodded for her to continue. "I just… I wanted him too badly. I wanted _us_ too badly. I followed him and cried over him. I guess I cried more than I laughed. I know pain and passion sort of go hand-in-hand, and I mistook the pain for passion, instead of seeing the difference. He knew I liked theatrics, so he gave them to me. It was as melodramatic as anyone can get. I should have known that my love life had gotten out of hand when 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' described my feelings perfectly." Rachel smiled weakly, indicating that it was okay for Finn to laugh. "I was so stupid," she whispered.

He circled his arms around her waist and laced his fingers behind her back. "No, you weren't. It was love. How did it fall apart?"

The next part was what she was truly scared to tell. She didn't even think she could give any of the truth without him inferring the rest. "Well, he was involved in some bad gangs and things… I found out he was soulless and had used me for entertainment, because my love is just that damn funny—" she snorted "—and the ensuing frenzy led to the death of my father and then my mentor." She refused to even let her chin wobble. She didn't even know if she had tears left in her to cry.

Finn's eyes would probably never go back to their normal size. "Just… whoa. There's no way that I can even relate." He pulled her in for a tight hug. Her perfect little body was pressed against him in a, well, really sexy way, with her chest against his and her legs on either side of his hips, but he wasn't going to try anything. Rachel Berry was damaged; he was determined to fix her. She didn't know it, but she needed him, and he wanted to help her.

She pulled away a little bit and put her forehead against his. "Well, your dad had kind of the same fate. At least both of our fathers died heroes. It was how they would've wanted it."

He allowed his fingers to trace words on her back; most ended up being _Finn and Rachel_. "You think they'd be happy to see us like this? Together?"

She giggled. "Well, Dad would most certainly give you a stern talking-to before giving you the number of a jeweler from whom to buy a promise ring." She kissed him softly.

"What about your other dad?" he mumbled against her lips. "Just wanna know so I'm prepared."

Rachel chuckled. "He's probably planning a wedding with your mom right now."

"Yeah, that sounds like her." His voice changed to a serious tone. "Although, that might not be too bad."

Rachel blushed, not wanting to press the subject. "Anything else you need to know? You don't have to be all-in this early in the relationship."

"I need to know about the leather jacket."

Rachel couldn't stop the tear that slipped down her cheek. "He… Jesse gave it to me. The night we first met. He said that I needed his help, and he gave me the jacket because I was shivering. It's sick, but it makes me feel… protected. I wear it in school because I don't want to be vulnerable. That's why I was so opposed to any sort of relationship when we first met. I still had that reminder of how badly things can go with a boy."

He moved one hand to her satiny hair. "But being vulnerable around me… That's okay?"

"I didn't think it would be possible. You, Finn Hudson, are possibly the most wonderful boy I've ever met. How do you tolerate _me_?"

"You're really hot…" Rachel grinned widely. "Kind, smart, talented. And totally _fierce_. About everything." He drew her face in to his as closely as possible. "I really, _really_ care about you. And I don't want you to think, like, ever that you need to chase me. I'm here for you."

She closed the distance between them quickly. "Oh, Finn," she breathed, kissing him again. She kissed all over his face. "You're amazing," she said, pushing tightly against him and never stopping their kisses.

For some reason, emotions came naturally to Finn when he was around Rachel.

. : .

"You embarrassed me last night," hissed a tall hockey player. Santana honestly couldn't remember his name. "You were supposed to meet me at Melanie Orbison's party. I was there _alone_ after I told all my buds that I was banging the hottest Cheerio on the squad."

Santana narrowed her eyes. "Look, puckhead, I flirted with you _once_ to get a fucking pencil. Don't pin your lack of game on me."

"You're a bitch."

"No, I keep it real. You need to get this through your head: we are not going to happen. I date _football_ players."

Puckhead rather aggressively trapped her against the lockers. "I can't be knocked down the ladder by a fucking _cunt_ like you."

She tried to push him away. "Get off." He persisted. Santana knew about abusive guys, for sure, but she hadn't expected that shit to start in high school. He grabbed her arm with his muscled one; there was no way she was going to shake him off.

"I think this conversation is over," said Rachel flippantly, having appeared out of nowhere.

"Fuck off, freak. I'm having a talk with her," Puckhead spat at her.

"And now it's done." Without preamble, Rachel got a strong grip on his bicep and threw him effortlessly across the hall. "A word of advice: women respond well to courtesy, not manhandling." Puckhead ran off, devoid of any dignity. Rachel turned to Santana. "Are you hurt? Any bruises?"

Santana was speechless. "How the hell did you do that?"

Before Rachel could answer, Brittany came running down the hallway. "She saved you! Just like she did for me!"

"What?"

"Rachel! She saved me from a vampire last week, and then she saved you from the hockey player."

"A vampire?" Santana arched her brow disbelievingly.

"Yeah! He was biting me really bad."

Rachel opened and closed her mouth; no one had ever admitted to his or her attacker being a vampire. Apparently, Brittany was so innocent that she believed the stories of monsters under the bed, in addition to all the propaganda of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

"Oh, I get it," said Santana. "Unwanted macking."

Rachel almost sighed in relief. "Exactly. The boys in this school are incredibly lecherous."

Santana turned to her. "You know, dwarf, you may be a freak, but you saved Britz and then me, so we're even for now."

"Great! Rachel can fight more vampires for us," exclaimed Brittany quite loudly.

Rachel immediately hushed her. "They're not real, Brittany. You have nothing to worry about."

"Oh! It's a secret. I get it." Brittany winked. "It's safe with me."

Santana rolled her eyes. "C'mon. We have Cheerios practice. Oh, and a word of advice to you, midget." Rachel looked up, hoping to hear something nice. "Punch Finn's v-card so he can stop looking so pathetic."

Rachel's mouth fell open and her cheeks flamed. She would most certainly _not_ be discussing such topics with Santana. Still fuming, she crashed right into Sam. The hallways were straggled with glee clubbers since practice had let out. She was waiting for Finn because the boys had been going over harmonies.

"I know what you are," said Sam abruptly.

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "A girl?"

"The Slayer."

She was momentarily dumbstruck. "Wrong. I don't even know what that is." She kept walking back towards the choir room.

"Don't play dumb. I know what Brittany thought is true. You're the vampire Slayer. That's why you're so strong and weird."

Rachel stopped in her tracks. "Thanks," she snarled. "Is there a point to you knowing my secret identity?"

His face turned somber. "My mom was the Slayer—she died a while ago. You're here because of some dark power, right? There's a reason. I want to help."

Rachel sighed in resignation—there would be no way to keep Sam completely away from the demonic workings of Lima. "Sam, you're far too pretty and naïve to undertake this kind of fight. What we have, as far as Mr. Schue and I have determined, is a sorcerer calling demon folk to Lima for purposes of the killing variety. You cannot be involved. I don't want you to _die_."

"But I know how to fight!" he insisted. "My mom's Watcher taught me after she died."

"You're nowhere near strong enough."

"You don't know that."

Rachel saw Finn walking towards over Sam's shoulder. "Listen, we're not continuing this argument right now. And you are most definitely not getting involved."

Sam sensed who was behind him. "You haven't told Finn, have you?"

"Haven't told me what?" asked Finn, who was within earshot.

"Nothing," dismissed Rachel. "Drive me home?"

"Sure," he smiled, albeit a little cautiously. He made quick eye contact with Sam, an unspoken agreement that he would be asking questions tomorrow.

. : .

"I thought you said he would be _here_," whined Rachel.

"Just be patient," said Mr. Schue. "You can't expect dark magic masters to work around your schedule."

"Don't you wish they did? Then you wouldn't have me yawning through the glee numbers," she complained.

He chuckled. "True, though your singing and dancing never seems to suffer." He went back to his book.

Rachel smiled and kept lookout. Cemeteries really were boring as hell, and the mausoleums were just plain creepy.

If only it could have stayed boring.

A huge demon with curved horns and rough skin came at her and Mr. Schue with feral growls ripping out of its throat. Rachel went into fighting stance and faced the demon. It wasn't much of a fighter: the huge thing relied on brute force to subdue Rachel. She was more skilled, obviously, and ducked most of its blows until she could pin it to the ground. She inspected the worn-out demon's face more closely. "Mr. Schue, this is clearly a Fyarl demon. You know what that means."

He crossed his arms. "It's an errand demon. Working for somebody."

"Do you speak Fyarl?"

"Unfortunately not. It's just a lot of grunts and cackling." Mr. Schue ran his hands through his hair. "Well, I guess we can get rid of one of the minions. It might make things more difficult for our baddie."

"Got a silver knife?"

He dug through the weapons back and passed it to her. Once she'd stabbed the demon, she knew she could no longer withhold the information she'd been wishing so desperately wasn't true. "Mr. Schue?"

"Yes?" he responded, looking up from his book.

"All the vampires I've been killing on patrol… When I've managed to shake information out of them, some of them have been mentioning Jesse."

Mr. Schue tried to hide his worry. "It's good that you're killing his accomplices, but, Rachel. you might not be able to face him, given the past circumstances. I know you haven't been here long, but you might need to get some help from people you trust. We can't take him down alone."

Rachel hugged her arms around her torso, drawing her leather jacket tighter around her. She would refute his point, but she knew he was right. Whatever spell or charm Jesse had over her was clearly not easily escapable; she had to try, though. "I don't want anyone else to die. I _know_ I can beat him; we just have to train harder. Right?"

He searched for doubt in her face and words. "We can try. Do you really think you'll be able to defeat him?"

"I have to. If I'm not strong enough to kill Jesse, I can't even call myself the Slayer."

"But I know how much you loved, maybe still love, him. It can't be easy."

Rachel nodded. "It's not. But, and don't tell Finn this, but I think I'm falling in love again." She gave him an unrestrained smile.

Mr. Schue grinned as well.

An old vampire behind the mausoleum felt his lips curl into a malicious smile. Rachel seemed to think she was strong again; he would most certainly have to correct that assumption. There was nothing else to do in a place like Lima.

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**The credit for the line about "Total Eclipse of the Heart" goes to my sister. We think it's very good for explaining melodrama. **

**I'm giving you a virtual hug for having read this. Wanna send me some love in a review? :)**


	6. Chapter 6

A couple of weeks later, the streets of Lima were getting steadily more dangerous while the population refused to recognize any change (at least, not outwardly). It simply wasn't a town equipped to deal with a convergence of mystical forces. Rachel was patrolling every night and training during most of her frees; Mr. Schue made her do homework between slays. She either snuck out or told her daddy she was tutoring Finn at night. She was overdrawn and desperately worried that she wouldn't be able to quell whatever danger was threatening to engulf her new home.

It caused her no guilt, then, to find that spending time with Finn was positively blissful. She spent nearly all her free time with him, either at her house or is, sometimes being fawned over by her dad and his mother. Rachel had not been wrong in her assumption that their wedding would be planned prematurely. In her previous relationship, she had rambled for hours at Jesse until he rewarded her with a word. (She'd thought it was a cry for help and he needed to be pulled out of the deep sadness that he felt as a vampire.) With Finn, he was constantly making her laugh, making her feel good about her opinions, and tickling her (though she suspected he often had an ulterior motive).

Obviously, she could never tell him about the things she had to do at night. When she'd told her best friend Emma, she'd run screaming (literally) and have never spoken to her again. She just had to defeat the dark forces; then she and Finn could be together without any secrets.

"Our problem right now is that we don't know if he's planning something big or if this is all about you," said Mr. Schue, going through his demon reference cabinet.

"The messages point to me. Jesse sends 'his regards,' 'his love,' 'his hope that you remember his…' Anyway, it's creeping me out," said Rachel, crossing her arms uncomfortably.

He gave her a sad smile. "We'll make sure to get him." He flicked through a couple of his prophecy books.

"I mean, I guess it's sort of flattering," thought Rachel aloud. "He's pretty much as obsessed with me as I was with him."

Mr. Schue chuckled. "I think his purposes are darker than yours ever were."

Rachel locked her eyes on her interlocked fingers. "Do you think… he ever cared about me?"

He paused awkwardly. Although he hadn't known Rachel long, he cared for her. Holly was an old friend of his, and had kept him updated on her progress as the Slayer. He knew about her relationship with Jesse, and probably would have disapproved as heartily as her fathers did. "Rachel, I know how hard you fell for him. You're such an amazing young woman; you loved him too much for your own good, I think. He put on a good show, but it was a play. I'm sorry."

"Right."

"I won't tell you that you shouldn't have fallen for him; it was impossible for you to control. From what I know, he put you under some sort of spell. The feelings are hard to get rid of, but I know you'll be able to fight him. You're strong."

Rachel wiped at a tear. "Thank you."

"I meant every word. I'm sorry if it was harsh."

"No, it was good. I have Finn now; I have all the means to move on with life. It's just difficult because I know he won't let me. I'm scared of what he's going to do. I can fight him, though. I have to. These people need me."

"We can do it."

. : .

"The vampires are getting stronger," said Sam, striding up to Rachel at her locker.

"You can't help me," said Rachel. "You're not strong enough."

"You just have to accept that I can fight. You're not the only one who wants to get rid of those damn demons."

She slammed her locker and turned to him. "I'm just saying that I'm the only one who has the natural agility, perception, and strength to bring them down every time. I'm not taking you onto the battlefield to have you kill one vamp and then _die_ the moment one throws you for a loop. I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

"Is that why you haven't told Finn? 'Cause I think your _boyfriend_ would be in major danger from all the hellbeasts stalking you."

She narrowed her eyes. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know about Slayers. My mom had her Watcher and at least two people she trusted to help her. It made all the difference in the world. She lived way longer than most do." He crossed his arms in triumph.

Rachel resisted the urge to spit out, _She's dead now_. "Okay, Sam. Let's make a deal."

"You'll let me fight?"

"No way in hell. Mr. Schue would never agree to that. If the dark forces get out of hand, you'll be one of the first people I call. Until then, stay out of the way. I don't have the patience to look after you."

His frown deepened. "I don't need your permission, you know."

"No, but you want it. That way, you'll definitely be on my team and I'll want to protect you. Wait for my say-so."

"C'mon, just let me help now! Have you seen my abs?" He lifted his shirt to show that he was, in fact, ripped.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Put your shirt down and _wait_, dammit. I can't do this right now."

"What the hell?" said Finn in annoyance. Neither Sam nor Rachel had noticed him approach a moment ago.

"Nothing, man. She's just being crazy stubborn about—" started Sam.

"Backflips! Sam's trying to prove he could do one without practice, but I uphold that much more gymnastics training is needed to achieve the perfect one," burst out Rachel.

Sam gave her an evil look. "Yeah, bro. You know me and gymnastics."

Finn arched his brow in disbelief, but he wasn't about to contradict Rachel. He knew he could turn on the waterworks and accuse him of not trusting her like nobody's business. "Okay…"

As the usually deliriously happy couple walked away, Sam let his head fall against the lockers. Now his boy was mad at him, and he was probably _never_ going to see some vamp action. Who let Rachel Berry make all the rules, anyway?

. : .

"With the recent upturn in mug and thug activity here, we're setting aside your gym period for self-defense," said Coach Beiste.

"Not that we care what happens to you," scoffed Coach Sylvester.

While the two women butted heads, Rachel leaned against Finn on the bleachers. She had stayed out later than usual last night to catch an annoyingly sneaky demon. She didn't know the breed, but it was oozy and ugly. She hoped she'd showered enough.

Finn opened his arm to drape around her shoulders and let her settle into him a bit more. He was still a little perplexed by the hallway conversation with Sam. When he'd confronted Sam a couple of weeks ago about why he and Rachel were whispering angrily, Sam said it was about a glee club solo. This time, backflips. It was a little strange. Maybe Rachel was cheating… But he knew she wouldn't do that. She'd had many chances to go on tirades against Quinn Fabray and her lack of "social decorum" and "moral standing." Rachel and Quinn didn't get along very well; he knew for a fact that Quinn liked to complain about Rachel to Puck. Puck, who was able to handle Quinn well in a relationship, listened and didn't say that he thought Rachel was kind of nice. Rachel had even managed to get on slightly-okay terms with Brittany and Santana, which was more than the rest of the club could do. Mercedes and Kurt had taken her under their wing as a fashion disaster that needed fixing; Rachel told him she was happy for their friendship, but was scared of what they would try to make her wear.

To him, Rachel wasn't just kind of nice. She was the most caring girl in his life, besides his mom. She let him talk through anything he needed when they were together, and he was feeling great because of that. They were also in a really good place emotionally, which was weird for him. He normally never liked to talk about that crap with girls, but Rachel made him feel… safe. It was weird because she was so tiny; technically, he should be the one protecting her.

"We'll be splitting you into partners," said Coach Beiste. She read off the roster and paired girls and boys together. They moved to find each other and scattered themselves around the mat. "First, girls, we're gonna teach you how to prevent an attack from behind."

Two footballers slapped palms with ugly smiles. Rachel rolled her eyes; she could _wait_ to show Azimio (she thought that was his name) how badly she could damage his masculinity. She suddenly stopped in planning her attack. _Wait. You're supposed to be a weak, little high school girl. There's no way you'd be able to throw him if you had strength proportional to your body_. She sighed. She guessed she'd have to break out her flawless acting skills.

"Okay, weaklings, time to fights. Boys, throw your arm around your girl's neck. Girls, try to throw off the mammoth behind you," shouted Coach Sylvester.

The girls pulled at their "attackers," with little result. Most boys were too large to even budge.

"You think this is hard? I was in Operation Desert Storm! That's hard!" chastised Coach Sylvester.

Rachel rolled her eyes and continued to pull at her attacker's hold without any real effort. He was your typical beefy football player; she was none too pleased to be paired with him. She heard the girls around her giving high-pitched grunts of exhaustion; she copied them to seem more believable. "Damn, this feels good," said Azimio shamelessly. "Harder, baby." He grabbed at her butt.

Enraged, Rachel accessed her strength and threw him over her in a large arc, letting his fall flat-backed on the ground. Everyone was silent.

"Guess I don't know my own strength," she mumbled before rushing to the locker room.

Brittany and Santana pursued her. "What the hell, dwarf?" asked Santana with a touch of reverence in her tone.

"I think you should give us lessons in self-defense," said Brittany. "You know, so we can defend ourselves against the vampires."

"Drop it, Brit. There are no vampires. We just need to fight against the idiot boys of our school. Right, Berry?"

"Right," said Rachel with a crooked grin.

. : .

Although Mr. Schue mocked her for her devotion to clothing, she knew it helped in her slaying if she was wearing a good outfit for her emotions that night. She shimmied into leather pants and a t-shirt; she wanted a tougher look, as she was hoping to run into Jesse.

"Daddy! I'm going to meet Finn," she yelled to her father in his study. He told her to have fun, and didn't specify a curfew because it was a Friday night.

As soon as she exited her house, she was confronted with the excuse in question. "Oh, Finn. Did we have plans tonight?" _Damn_. Maybe her excuse was real.

"Um, yeah. You said I had to take you on a real dinner date for once," he replied, staring at her pants.

She had given him a diatribe earlier about their lack of normal dates, but she had expected one for Saturday. Plus, she really had to slay tonight. "That's very sweet, but maybe tomorrow? I have to go out tonight."

"In that outfit? What are you doing?" he asked.

"You don't like it?"

He let out a breath. "No, I do. Like, a lot. But I kind of wanted it to be for me, you know?" He looked at her suspiciously. "Who are you meeting? Sam?"

Her eyes widened. "No! It's just this thing I have to go to that is… um…"

He crossed his arms. "You're hiding something from me. You're never around at night, and Sam even told me as much. I want to know what's going on. If it's something serious, I can protect you." He walked over to her and gave her a hug. "Tell me what's wrong?"

She sighed, squeezing him back lovingly. "Finn, I _really_ care about you, but I don't want you to get hurt."

He kissed the top of her head. "Let me help."

"Okay," she decided. "Take your hand off my butt, and then I'll show you what it is that I do at night." She took his hand and they started walking.

He blushed. "Sorry; couldn't resist."

She giggled. "Normally, that's a good thing."

* * *

**Sorry this took so long, lovely and amazing readers! I was drowning in tests and essays again. I do have some bad news for people who are impatient: I'm on spring break now, so for the next week and a half, I'm not sure how my internet is going to be, so I might not post until I get back. I'll be writing as much as possible, though. I promise! (But be happy for me, because I'll be at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter)**

**There are much better Finchel fanfics out there, so I assume this will be no great loss. You should try reading "The Reeling" by ERAvulgaris because it's awesome and I'm the beta reader. Also, I recently read everything by oftheheart, so read those too.**

**Say whatever you want in a review. I wrote this rather quickly, so I'm sorry if it sucks; it's sort of a bridge, anyway. I seriously thank each and every person who's taken the time to read or review this story :).**


	7. Chapter 7

**So, I do have free internet. Also, sorry about the un-edited rush job on the last chapter. And sorry this chapter's a bit short-the next one will have a lot more. Hope you like it!**

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"I'm glad we're doing this, Finn," said Rachel determinedly. "I think showing you this secret will bring us closer together." She furrowed her brow when he didn't answer, then looked at him, seeing the path of his eyes. "Finn, are you even listening to me?"

He was still more interested in her pants. "Hm?"

She huffed. "Typical!"

He raised his eyes. "What? This new look is kinda hot. I mean, it's not the normal you, but you look like one of those tough chicks on crime shows. It's cool." He squeezed her hand. "Where are we going?"

"This is something that is better to be shown than told."

"You don't wanna give me any warning?"

"I think it's a 'shock of recognition' moment."

"I'm gonna have to play 20 questions with you on this, aren't I?"

"I might not answer some of them," said Rachel in a singsong voice.

"Does it involve singing?"

"I have been known to break out in triumphant song."

"What about dancing?"

She smiled secretly. "Of a sort."

"This works better if you say yes or no." Rachel gave him an indignant look, like she was mad that he wasn't playing her game; he rolled his eyes and threw his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. "Okay… Is it school stuff?"

"Thankfully, no."

"What do you _really_ talk to Sam about?"

"That's not a yes or no question. But I will confirm that we sometimes discuss what you're about to see. Although he has _no place_ in this world."

He got his bearings quickly. "Why are we walking into the cemetery?"

She stopped him and grasped both of his hands, facing him. "This is almost past the point of no return. You're about to see a world which you can't un-see. It's terrifying, in many ways, but I think you're strong enough to handle it."

Fear passed through his eyes. "You think so?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "You've taken me as a girlfriend, and you've actually held your own against me in an argument, so I think it's fair to say. Plus, you're a leader—for football _and_ glee club."

He smiled, inspired by her words. "Let's go."

She stood on her tiptoes to hug him, then laced her fingers with his and started to walk him to her usual meeting spot with Mr. Schue. They would've reached it, but they were waylaid by a vampire who had his bumpies on.

"Stay here," ordered Rachel, running forward to meet the vampire. He bared his teeth—_how original_—and she kicked him in the chest (also unoriginal, but effective). He stumbled back, angry, but before it could go too far, she let her stake slide out of her sleeve and pushed it into his chest.

Finn's mouth opened and closed in alarm. "You… you just killed that guy?"

She turned around, brushing the dust off herself. "He would've killed me first. That was a vampire."

"No fucking way."

"Rachel! I thought I heard you. I was chasing a vampire," said Mr. Schue, walking quickly to meet her. "And you… brought a date. Nice to see you, Finn."

"_Vampires?_"

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Mr. Schue.

She took Finn's limp hand in her own. "He's my boyfriend! He deserves to know, especially with all the dark forces rising right now. I want to make sure he's prepared."

"What dark forces are there _other_ than vampires?" demanded Finn.

"Various species of demon," clarified Mr. Schue.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

"I'm her Watcher. I help Rachel train and increase her strength."

Finn pressed the heels of his hands against his temples, feeling like his head was bulging uncomfortably with this new, ridiculous information. "I can't even…"

"Well, now," said a new voice.

All three turned to the man who had appeared.

"Jesse?" said Rachel, with a mixture of incredulity, sadness, and anger.

"That's him?" said Mr. Schue and Finn at the same time.

"Seems like the new toy can't deal with your true identity," Jesse observed. Mr. Schue started toward him with a stake, but Jesse thrust him backward; his head clunked against a gravestone and he was motionless.

Rachel opened her mouth to give Jesse an indignant speech (and then hopefully a stake to the heart), but she made the mistake of looking him in the eye. His trance worked immediately; she was helplessly under his influence, no matter how much she didn't want to be. Finn, having regained some of his common sense, walked toward Jesse, but Jesse snapped his fingers and one of his large minions took hold of Finn.

"How long ago was it that we were together?" asked Jesse with a cruel smile, keeping his eyes locked with Rachel's. "You've moved on quite quickly. I guess trying to set me on fire helped with that."

She couldn't move or will herself to feel her deep hate for him, but she was angry at his words. "I guess your trying to _kill me_ helped with that."

"Baby, play nice. I see you're not wearing the jacket I gave you—how rude! That was a gift."

Finn struggled against his attacker. "Rachel, he can't talk to you like that! Kick his ass!"

Jesse came up behind her and played with the ends of her hair. Finn struggled harder—that was _his_ thing. "She's not going to do that. I'm her Jesse."

"I hate you," said Rachel weakly. "Let me go."

"You'll just try to kill me and fail. Aren't I saving you some embarrassment?" He gathered her hair over her right shoulder. "But I can't say I wouldn't love a fight. You make such hot noises when you kick people around."

"Leave her alone!" yelled Finn.

"You should be agreeing with me," said Jesse. "Have you given him a ride, baby?" He traced his finger along her neck. "As I recall, she absolutely _begs_ you to fuck her. Is that what's happening? Is that why he's so wrapped around your finger?"

"You had sex?"

His smirk got even larger. "At her gross insistence." He squeezed Rachel's shoulder. "We're going to leave now, sweetheart. Our fight will be soon, and then I'll turn you. It will be poetic, won't it? A Slayer turned into a vampire? You'll slaughter the whole city," cooed Jesse. "We'll be going now."

Finn's restrainer gave him one final punch and took off running with Jesse. Rachel stayed still for a minute, while Finn was doubled over in pain. She fell, having been released from the trance. She rushed to Mr. Schue.

"Oh, thank god," she breathed. "His head's not dented or anything. Just a normal bump." She crawled over to Finn, taking his face in her hands. "How are you?"

"Bruised," he said. "And mad as hell."

Mr. Schue stirred next to the gravestone. He touched the back of his head. "No serious damage, I guess. What'd I miss?"

"And what right do you have to be mad?" Rachel shot back at Finn.

"You kill _vampires_, and you couldn't have told me?"

"It's a _secret _identity, Finn. Anyway, the last time I told someone, she ran away screaming. I didn't want you to do that to me," she explained soothingly.

He jerked away from her conciliatory hand. "I feel like I don't even know you."

"I was giving myself to you in installments. I didn't want to scare you off."

"I just… you dated a vampire? That's so weird. And you… when I haven't even… This is so messed up, Rachel," said Finn, shaking his head.

"We can work through it. You're strong, just like I am." She forced him head up again, but he wouldn't meet her eyes.

"I can't do this right now." He got up and left.

Mr. Schue got up and squatted next to her. "You okay?"

Rachel sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I guess it went better than I expected."

"He didn't scream," he agreed.

"He doesn't want anything to do with me."

"Don't be so sure. He just needs some time to sort himself out. The discovery that hellish creatures roam the earth can throw a person."

Rachel heard snarling in the vicinity, and got up to perform her destiny. "I really hope it's a boy demon. I'm not feeling very kind to men right now."

* * *

**Hey. Hey you. You with the computer. Leave me a review? (hearts)**


	8. Chapter 8

"Rachel, you've missed three sessions. I will have to turn you into Principal Figgins if it happens again," scolded Ms. Pillsbury.

"Sorry," she mumbled. It's not like these meetings were helpful, anyway. She was in a deep, dramatic depression that the optimistic guidance counselor could not pull her out of.

"How have classes been?"

"Good."

"Are the teachers giving you any trouble?"

"No."

"How is your singing going?"

"Well."

"Are you going to answer all of my question in monosyllables?"

"Yes."

Ms. Pillsbury tapped her pencil, pretending to be unsure how to proceed. "Is it a boy?" she said suddenly. "Mr. Schuester told me you've gotten quite close with Finn."

Rachel was trapped; she could lie about this, but the emotions were too fresh to push them under the surface. "Yes."

"What happened?"

She sighed. It was probably best to talk about the unfortunate happenstance. "I told him a big secret. He couldn't deal, so he hasn't called me all weekend."

"What was it?"

"A secret."

"Do you think he'll move past it?"

"The last person I told couldn't. Based on empirical proof, our relationship will soon be officially over. He just has to make the call."

"That's quite an unhappy outcome."

"No, really?" said Rachel, her anger flaring up. "I thought what we had was _real_. I thought I was falling in love with him; I was so sure he was falling for me, too. And I know it sounds cliché, but he let me be_ me_. There's no way I can get over what we had. I tried to be honest with him, let us have a clear road ahead, but he ran away. He's scared of me now, and he clearly didn't feel the way I felt about him. We were going to go the distance, but he doesn't care enough about me to work through this infinitesimal wrinkle."

"Is it possible you're downplaying his feelings for you to make hating him easier?"

"No."

"Well, I think it is. I also think that he will come back to you, because if you felt that deeply for him, he wouldn't have led you on when he saw how much you cared for him." Ms. Pillsbury made her assessment seem more casual by straightening her pencils.

"You're wrong."

"I have a Ph.D, Rachel. I know what I'm talking about. I've also been through the same thing." She smiled. "It worked out in the end. I'm very happy with Will."

"You're with _Mr. Schuester_?"

"Yes. It was a long and bumpy ride, but we got there. We both had issues, other commitments, but we were meant to be. If you and Finn had the connection you believed you did, and Will and I think you do, then he _will_ come back to you."

Rachel leaned forward; she had a newfound respect for her guidance counselor. "What if it's too hard? What if he just can't deal?"

"Nothing in life comes easy. You have to battle your demons with vigor and grace." Ms. Pillsbury's lips quirked in a smile. Rachel suspected Mr. Schuester hadn't been too discreet with his secret either.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

. : .

"I killed a vampire last night," said Sam proudly.

Rachel shut her locker and raised her disbelieving eyebrows. "How do I know you're not lying to me so I'll let you in the field? Killing demons isn't some sort of sport; you _die_ if you lose. The only one who can win is a girl like me."

"Modest, much?" He pulled out his cellphone. "I took a video of it." He put it in front of her face and played the short film of him fighting and dusting a vampire.

She tapped her finger on her chin. "Although I could really only see the vampire, he seemed to have been well at your mercy. Still, your fighting form needs work, and luckily I'm about to go train with Mr. Schue. You'll come along, obviously, if you want to help me patrol tonight. I do have a job for you."

They started walking to the weight room. "I don't think I need that. I mean, have you seen my abs?"

"Yes, Sam, but you'll find my workout much different and far more difficult."

"Whatever. What's the job? Busting a nest of vampires? Taking out a bunch of crazy demons?"

"No, not at all. I want you to stay out of the middle of the fray and do me a favor."

Sam frowned. "Does it at least involve killing a vampire?"

"Yes. He's a tricky one. This vampire, Jesse, can put people in trances, make them helpless. He's going to do it to me, so when that happens, stake him. He won't be paying attention to you, anyway."

"Why are you so important to him?"

"Um, hello! I'm the Slayer. I'm so important to _every_ vampire," she said, evading the truth. "Now, let's go tell Mr. Schue; he definitely should come if you're going to be there. He can keep an eye on you." She started walking to his office.

"Excuse me? I can take care of myself. Why are you so holier-than-thou?" he questioned angrily.

"Look, Sam, I don't doubt your abilities. You're highly capable, which is proved by your body. The fact of the matter is that you aren't _destined_ to fight vampires and win most of the time. My last Watcher was an adept and versatile fighter, but she was still overpowered. That _could_ happen to me, but it's much more likely to happen to you. I'm simply worried for your safety. You want that, don't you? You're on my team now; you know you would pick me as the leader if there were a democratic process."

Sam nodded; she was still a bit too proud, but her logic was sound. "Cool. As long as I'm in the fight."

"Don't worry. You're totally in."

. : .

"Finn, what in the _hell_ did you do to Rachel?" demanded Kurt, stomping up to Finn in the lunch line.

"What? Nothing. How did you know?"

"She did not text me back _all weekend_. That kind of self-imposed exile only comes out of heartbreak. Plus, you're not eating lunch with her _and _you avoided her in English today. I'm not stupid."

"Dude, just because our parents are dating does not mean you can give me relationship advice." Finn started to walk away.

"Hypocrite! You did the same thing when I had a crush on Sam, who I'm still not totally convinced is straight," Kurt jibed, pulling Finn around to face him.

"Sam and you are my friends; I had to butt in."

"So my interference is different because…?"

"Fine. We got into a fight on Friday, so I've been avoiding her. I don't know how… I just need some time." He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his fist over his face, trying to calm his overactive brain.

"Did she cheat on you as well? That'd be batting a perfect game, wouldn't it?"

Finn glared. "No, she didn't. She's not a bitch like that. She had this… secret, and I don't know why she didn't tell me to begin with. I mean, she totally should've."

"I think you're overreacting. There are probably a million things you didn't disclose to her upon first meeting, and the same with her. Granted, you knew a bit more about her because of your Facebook-stalking—"

"_Don't_ tell her about that."

"You see? Secrets are kept; I know it seems like a betrayal, but you're only thinking that way because you can't handle whatever the secret was. What was it, by the way?"

"Er…"

"Right. Good—don't tell me. You keep her secret, and figure out if she's worth it. I assume Rachel has a personality outside of this secret?" Finn nodded. "Text me when you make a decision; I might need to plan an ice-cream binge girls night if you are incredibly stupid." With that encouragement, he left.

_Yeah, she's fucking worth it_, he thought. _I knew that before I even met her. Don't screw this up, Hudson. She'd never forgive you. _

He fueled up with his giant lunch and resolved to go to her after basketball practice. He would not leave her hanging like Jesse did; he cared about her way more than that damn vampire ever had. Sure, he was a bit thrown that she had slept with a _vampire_, while he was still a virgin, but she'd been in love, and hadn't known what would happen. If there was one thing he wouldn't mess up, it was Rachel Berry and her heart. He saw her sad eyes and leather jacket again, so he needed to make that right. He really,_ really_ cared about her, probably too much, considering how long he'd known her.

Plus, he hadn't made out with her since Thursday, and that was some sort of crime to him. Maybe he could convince her to wear those leather pants again… Well, he had to fix things emotionally first.

. : .

"Daddy, I have something to tell you," said Rachel importantly over dinner.

"You're going to tell me where you go every night?" he asked.

"Er… yes, actually."

"Go on, honey."

"Okay… I just think that you should know this." He nodded, urging her on. "I'm the Slayer; specifically one of vampires and other demons."

"Hm… I thought it was something like that."

"You did?"

"Honey, I've noticed that you're not like other girls. You're stronger and simply _better_ than most. I'm sorry this was thrust on you; destiny isn't easy." He smiled at her shocked expression. "Didn't think I'd be so understanding, did you?"

"I just assumed with out shared love of theatrics…"

"I think we've both mellowed out since your dad's death. Was that the work of a demon?"

"A vampire… with whom I was involved. I'm going to beat him, though. I promise. Mr. Schuester, my Watcher, has been helping me train and introducing me to new types of weapons. I'm going out tonight and hoping that I'll run into him. I'm bringing my friend Sam along because his mother was a Slayer so he knows how to fight. I swear, all of this dark power and destruction will all be over soon."

"I have no doubt in my mind that you'll kick some demon ass."

Rachel walked around the table and hugged him. "You're the best Daddy."

"It's not hard when you've got the best daughter." He pulled back. "May I ask if Finn knows?"

Despondency crossed her face. "I showed him on Friday. He didn't… take it too well."

"Give him time, honey. I'm sure he'll come around. Carole and I both know he really cares about you."

"If I want to beat Jesse, Finn can't be my priority. I have hope, of course, but I'm also realistic."

"He may surprise you."

"I hope so."

. : .

Finn walked up Rachel's street, ready to forgive her and tell her he could deal with her secret identity as long as she never put a stake in his heart. He hoped she would be pleased about the metaphor.

Though, when he reached her house, he hadn't expected to see her walking away with Sam.

He followed them at a distance, straining to hear their conversation. Unsurprisingly, he was not very stealthy due to his size, so he couldn't really get close enough to hear them without making his presence known. She couldn't've moved on already… it'd only been a few days, really. He knew that his past experience with high school girls showed him they were heartbreakers, but Rachel wasn't like that. It wasn't like he considered himself a fabulous judge of character—she had outlined her views that a person should wait at least half the amount of time of a relationship before moving on to someone new. She also hated cheaters and girls who went out with their ex-boyfriend's best friends. He wondered if this all stemmed from Quinn bullying her.

Remembering all this, he was pretty sure she wasn't looking to get with Sam. First of all, she was walking at a friendly distance from him, and second of all, Sam was too short for her, since he was only five eleven. He was kind of really proud of his powers of deduction.

They stopped at the entrance to the cemetery, and Finn sped up to meet them. Rachel placed a hand on Sam's shoulder, looking up at him with gratitude, and drew him into a hug. Finn came up behind her and placed an arm around her waist, pulling her to his side.

When Rachel saw it was Finn, her previously downturned mouth stretched into a wide smile, and she jumped to circle her arms around his neck and hug him tightly. "I knew you could handle it."

"Why are you with Sam?" he asked under his breath, setting her down.

"Oh, Sam?" she breathed, still too happy because of his unexpected appearance. "His mother was a Slayer. He thinks he can kill vampires."

"I _can_," argued Sam.

"Sam, you have one job tonight. Kill Jesse when he's distracted. Got it?"

"Wait, let me do that. I can't let him get away with how he talked to you the other night," urged Finn, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Dude, come on! That's the _only_ thing she's letting me do. Kill another demon," protested Sam.

"No, Finn, you have to get out of here. I really care about you, and Jesse can tell how happy you make me. He'll target you first! I wouldn't be able to stand it if he killed you," Rachel explained, stomping her foot at the last bit.

Finn grinned at her, overjoyed that she wasn't holding any anger towards him from last Friday. "You make me really happy, too." He kissed her hotly, pushing his tongue past her lips and threading his fingers through the hair at her scalp. She clutched his shoulders, desperately trying to pull him closer.

Sam sighed, then noticed what had happened while he, Finn, and Rachel had been busy arguing. "Uh… Rachel? I think you'll have to let me take on more than one vamp."

Rachel and Finn broke apart, only to see that the three were surrounded by no less than eight vampires. _I could probably take four at once_, thought Rachel, _but that still leaves two a piece for Sam and Finn until I can get to them. _

"Okay, boys," said Rachel with authority, passing Sam and Finn each a stake, "this is the first and most important rule of slaying: don't die." _Best way to learn is by doing._

Rachel, experienced in taking down vampires, made sure to disarm the first two quickly by kicking them into each other. She still had two others to keep under control, so her kicks and punches couldn't slow down. Sam, on her left, had gotten lucky and staked one vampire when it ran at him without foresight, so he could focus his energy on beating down the other. Finn, on her right, was new to the game. Still, she heard the dull noise of wood into vampire flesh from Finn's side, and was incredibly relieved.

"Shit," he mumbled; the snarling from the staked vampire had increased.

"Dude! The heart is on the _other_ side of the chest," advised Sam, kicking the other vampire over a gravestone and killing him.

As soon as Finn managed to stick the stake in the right place, another vampire, who had been waiting patiently in hopes of getting a good meal, came up behind him to feed. Sam, ever the faithful teammate, pulled the vampire off of Finn, who then turned around and drove his weapon in the demon.

Finn coughed. "I think I swallowed some of that dust," he said, brushing himself off.

"It happens. You know, Rachel's really good at fighting. She might not have even needed us," observed Sam.

Finn turned to watch her—she did look really good, and, since she was wearing a short striped skirt, he could see the flexed muscles of her legs. He wondered why she didn't wear pants to fight, but then he saw that (unfortunately) she was wearing tiny shorts under her skirt so there was no danger of panty-flashing. He didn't know much about Slayers, but he guessed it was just a Rachel thing, to wear skirts like that.

"Take off the belt, Slayer. Jesse says you know how to show a guy a good time," sneered the last vampire left.

Finn made a move to help her, because, really, now that he sort of knew how to kick around a vampire, no one could talk to Rachel like that. It wasn't needed, though. "Big mistake," said Rachel. She roundhouse kicked the final vampire in the head so hard that he got thrown into Finn and Sam's vicinity. "Boys? Wanna get this one for me?"

Before they could nod, the vampire took Sam's left arm and pulled, letting out a sickening pop. While Sam cursed in pain, Finn got the vampire from behind, and got even more dust in his mouth.

Sam sat down gingerly and felt his shoulder. "Fuck, this hurts," he said through his clenched teeth.

Rachel came up and felt him. "I think he dislocated it. Finn, could you hold his wrist? I'll put it back in place, okay? It's going to hurt, but it's the best thing to do," she warned. "I've replaced my own shoulder many times before."

Finn held his friend's wrist firmly as he had been directed. "For the record, Rach, I totally forgive you for not telling—" started Finn.

Rachel met his gaze with fire in her eyes. "You ignore me all weekend and _you're_ the one to forgive? Finn Hudson, I should be _furious_ with you! Why did you expect me to tell you my deepest, darkest secret on our first meeting? It's not like you disclosed to me that you're easily aroused and prone to premature ejaculation—"

"I still haven't told you that!" Finn said, shooting Sam a glare when he chuckled.

"That's my point, Finn! You would've told me eventually, but you were embarrassed to tell me in the early stages of our relationship because it was a secret."

"Rach! You're totally overreacting! I was _trying_ to apologize."

"Well, I appreciate that, but you could've started with a less condescending—"

"Guys!" yelled Sam. Rachel and Finn fell silent due to the power in his voice. "This is pointless. Finn, you handled shit badly by ignoring her. Rachel, he wants you to forgive him for that and understand that everyone flips a shit when they find out the monsters under the bed are real. Would you just make up already?"

Rachel gazed at Finn imploringly. "I'm sorry for being short with you, Finn. I'm positively joyous that you didn't abandon me because of my destiny."

"No, I'm sorry. I should've started with the apology. The whole Slayer thing is a little scary, but you're so great it doesn't matter."

"Oh, Finn," said Rachel with happy tears in her eyes. The couple leaned toward each other to kiss.

"Dipshits! My shoulder?" interrupted Sam.

Rachel took her position behind Sam and positioned his shoulder, cracking it back into place. "Really, Sam, that was quite dramatic. Patience is a virtue, you know."

Sam rolled his eyes pointedly. "You're one to talk. You can make up with your guy now." He scrambled out from under the recently reunited couple.

"You're still my girl?" Finn questioned, scooting towards her.

"Always," she said, pressing her lips to his. She realized that her answer might scare him off, but Finn seemed spurred on by her devotion and kissed her hard, delving his tongue into her mouth again. He dropped his hands quickly to her ass and pulled her into his lap, while she circled her arms around his waist, trying to get as close as possible.

"Christ, can you save the love-fest for later? There are still vamps roaming, and we have to kill that Jesse guy," said Sam from a gravestone, where he had sat while Finn and Rachel couldn't control their hormones.

They both got up and beat some more dust out of their clothes. "Great! Patrol should be no problem tonight. Got my weapons, got my boys. Let's kick some ass!" She skipped down the cemetery path in an incredibly three-year-old-ish way.

"We're not _her_ boys," clarified Sam.

"I think we are if we want to survive. We're most definitely her boys," said Finn, running up behind Rachel and tickling her.

"What did I say about the love-fest?" shouted Sam, running to catch up.

* * *

**Sorry that took so long! I hope it turned out okay-I kept going back and forth on how I wanted things to happen. Anyway, I'll be starting the next chapter just as soon as I figure out who the witch is going to be. Any suggestions?**

**Wanna send me some love with a REVIEW? I'll give you a virtual hug and Girl Scout cookie. **


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